PURPOSE
The meaning of purpose is the reason or why something occurs. When thinking of what you want your purpose to be, consider the question “So what?” If you think of this question while trying to define the purpose of your essay you will have a better understanding of why you are writing and your readers will also. It helps the author prevent writing unnecessary information or using information that has no relation to the text. Keep in mind your rhetorical situation and how your purpose affects your writing. During the writing process, one of the first things you should do is figure out why you are writing about that specific topic. If you begin a story, essay or any piece of writing without knowing what and why your information is beneficial to your readers, then you do not know what you are writing about. Always begin with a brief thesis or topic because it gives you a place to start. With this thesis or topic, you can brainstorm ideas and figure out where those ideas would fit best in your writing. See brainstorming for more information. Motivation Another way of determining what your purpose will be is keeping your motivation and audience in mind. Always consider what motivates you to write about what your topic is. If this is done, you will be in better shape in terms of your writing. Having motivation can also provide you with ideas of what to write about. If you get stuck while writing a piece or you are losing ideas, you can think back to that motivation and it will help provide some ideas. A person’s motivation to write does not have to be a certain thing. It can be anything that helps the author write. Audience In terms of audience, consider who your audience is, how your purpose will affect your audience and what will be appropriate. In terms of appropriating your writing, consider whether it is going to be personal or professional. A personal piece would be one directed to a friend, family member, peer, etc. A professional piece would be one directed to a professor or someone of higher authority. Approach the situation with respect to who you are writing for. Purpose affects the audience because the writer’s audience has to understand the purpose. If the audience does not understand what the author is trying to convey, then the purpose of the paper will be unknown. This will make the piece seem irrelevant. See audience for more information. Goals You should think of what exactly you are aiming for in your writing; whether it is to persuade, inform or entertain. An informative piece of writing differs from a persuasive or entertaining piece of writing. A persuasive paper is one where the author aims to persuade an audience or get them to reason with them. An entertaining piece is one where the author aims to entertain the audience or provide them with some sort of amusement. An informative essay is one where the author aims to inform or give detailed information about a specific topic to their specific audience. See informative for more information. Knowing what your goal is for your writing piece will help you get straight to the point. You will know exactly what to write and also, what you want your audience to get out of your writing.